Amputation Injury Lawyer in Redwood City, CA

Losing a limb changes your life in so many ways. These kinds of severe injuries can happen while you’re going about your day at work, going out for a scenic drive on I-280, or even while running errands around San Mateo County. If you suffer a traumatic amputation of a finger, part of a limb, or an entire limb, we can help.

At Danko Meredith, our Redwood City personal injury attorneys can take on powerful interests to secure fair compensation. We will level the playing field with insurance companies so you can live with dignity and comfort.

If your future feels uncertain, our law firm will help you find stability and strength. For a free consultation with an amputation lawyer in Redwood City, contact our law firm today.

a medical bag on the ground at the scene of a severe accident

How the Loss of a Limb Will Affect Your Life

Losing a limb or multiple limbs can affect your life in countless ways.

  • Adapting to Daily Life: Survivors who’ve lost a limb will need to change how they perform daily tasks. Even with the use of a prosthetic and assistive devices, it can take time to adjust.
  • Phantom Limb Pain: Many survivors experience pain in the limb they’ve lost. This is a sign of the body adapting to the amputation, but it can impact daily life and quality of life.
  • Potential Change in Career: If the loss of a limb or multiple limbs affects your ability to work, this could mean shifting to a different role or the need for job retraining and starting over.
  • Impact on Relationships: Spouses and other family members may need to assume some kind of caregiver role. There may also be changes to intimacy and affection between partners after these injuries.
  • Effects on Mental Health: Losing a limb can cause all kinds of changes to a survivor’s mental health and emotional well-being.

Our Redwood City traumatic amputation attorneys will consider your life before and after the loss of a limb. These changes are crucial when seeking maximum compensation for this life-changing injury.

Common Causes of Traumatic Amputations

Here are some of the most common kinds of incidents that can cause traumatic amputations.

Establishing Negligence in Loss of Limb Cases

When proving negligence in a traumatic amputation claim, our Redwood City injury attorneys will focus on these four elements:

  • Duty of Care: Someone had a duty to act reasonably in order to ensure the safety of others.
  • Breach of Duty: Someone failed to act responsibly.
  • Causation: By failing in their duty, someone caused another person to lose a limb.
  • Damages: The person who lost a limb experienced financial losses because of the incident and the lasting effects of their disability.

Compensation for Loss of Limb Accidents

After losing a limb, compensation can help address current and future financial burdens. Compensation can also provide long-term stability for changes in your personal and professional life. Our traumatic amputation attorneys in Redwood City can help you seek full and fair compensation.

Economic Damages for Traumatic Amputation

Economic damages are the financial losses associated with life after losing a limb. These include:

  • Emergency room and hospitalization costs
  • Surgical procedures and additional medical treatments
  • Occupational therapy, prosthetics, and other assistive devices
  • Lost wages while recovering from injuries
  • Reduced future earning capacity due to disability
  • Renovations or other accommodations for the loss of a limb

Non-Economic Damages for Traumatic Amputation

Non-economic damages are the subjective changes in quality of life for people who have lost a limb. This includes: 

  • Physical pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress and mental anguish
  • Loss of enjoyment of life
  • Lower quality of life

How Partial Fault Can Affect Compensation for the Loss of Limbs

California is a pure comparative negligence state. This means that you can seek compensation if you were partly to blame for an incident or mostly at fault. However, any compensation you are awarded is reduced by your share of liability.

Insurance companies can use partial liability against you. They may allege that you were more at fault for what happened than you really were in order to reduce settlement offers and payouts. Our loss of limb attorneys in Redwood City can push back on these claims so you get the full compensation you deserve.

How Long Do I Have to File a Traumatic Amputation Lawsuit in California?

In California, you generally have two years from the date of the accident or traumatic incident to file an injury claim (CCP § 335.1). You won’t be able to file an amputation lawsuit once the two-year deadline has expired.

There are some exceptions to the two-year statute of limitations, and you have additional notice of claim requirements if the incident involved a government agency or entity.

Do not wait until the last minute. It’s best to contact our Redwood City amputation lawyers as soon as possible. We can assess the catastrophic incident that resulted in the loss of your limb and make sure you meet all deadlines.

Why Choose Danko Meredith for Your Loss of Limb Case

If you’ve lost a limb, you need a law firm that will fight for you and seek maximum compensation for your life-changing injury. The team at Danko Meredith is here to provide support and hold negligent parties accountable for their actions. We can level the playing field and make sure your story matters.

We Have the Resources and Experts to Take Your Case to Trial

At Danko Meredith, we are ready to take your case to trial. Our team of personal injury attorneys has decades of combined trial experience. We also have the resources to hire some of the finest expert witnesses in the country. Even when we’re outnumbered by a corporate defense team, we won’t be outlawyered.

We Have a Strong Record of Past Case Results

Danko Meredith has a history of handling complex litigation. We have secured compensation in numerous cases involving catastrophic injuries, including a $2.2 million settlement for a severe brain injury. While past case results are no guarantee of future success, we encourage you to browse our past verdicts and settlements. This will help you understand the kinds of cases we can handle.

You Pay Nothing Unless We Win

At Danko Meredith, we work on a contingency fee basis. This means that we only get paid if we secure compensation for you. If we don’t win, you pay us nothing. We are fully invested in your claim and in your family’s future after the loss of a limb.

Contact Our Redwood City Amputation Attorneys Near You

If you’ve lost a limb in a serious accident, the attorneys at Danko Meredith want to hear from you. We’ve helped people in San Mateo County and all over the Bay Area seek meaningful compensation after a life-altering injury. For a free case review with a traumatic amputation lawyer near you, contact our Redwood City law firm today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Traumatic Amputation Lawsuits

If you are looking for support groups for amputees or caregivers for people who’ve lost limbs, here are a few organizations to start with:

  • The Amputee Coalition: Assisting more than 5.6 million Americans, the Amputee Coalition offers resources, guidance, and an extensive network of support groups for people who have lost a limb.
  • Amputee Outreach: Amputee Outreach is a nonprofit committed to people who’ve experienced the loss of a limb. The organization provides emotional and practical support to amputees and caregivers.
  • Center for Independence of Individuals with Disabilities (CID): Based in San Mateo, CID can offer all kinds of resources and support for people who’ve lost a limb or experienced other kinds of disabilities.

Possibly, but it depends on the nature of the workplace injury and the parties involved. For most work-related injuries, you will only be eligible for workers’ compensation benefits.

However, if a party from outside of your work caused your traumatic amputation, you may be able to file a third-party claim to seek damages. Our lawyers can review your loss of a limb while on the job and let you know if you’re eligible to file a third-party lawsuit.

To estimate future medical expenses for amputees, our lawyers will collaborate with life care planners, your doctors and other specialists, and financial experts. Each case is different, but they tend to involve the following:

  • Mapping out future health needs (e.g., surgeries, medication)
  • Noting the ongoing cost of physical and occupational therapy
  • Accounting for upgrades or replacement of prosthetics and assistive devices
  • Adjusting costs to account for inflation
  • Estimating your life expectancy

When we work with you on your case, we can help you understand how much your amputation claim is really worth.

This is a possibility if you’ve lost a limb. Some workplaces may be able to provide reasonable accommodations following the loss of a limb causing no interruption in your career. However, you may not be able to continue doing certain kinds of jobs because of your injury. You may even have to take a lower-paying position or start over in a new vocation.

In these situations, our lawyers will consider your lost wages as well as your reduced earning capacity due to your injuries. Both of these will be carefully considered as we negotiate a settlement or seek damages in court.